Nursing Major, PhD

Campus Code

Distance Education

Admissions Standards/Procedures

• All applicants must hold a Bachelor’s degree in nursing from a program accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission [NLNAC] or the Collegiate Commission on Nursing Education [CCNE].
• Have a minimum cumulative graduate grade point average of 3.30 on a 4.00 scale for previous college work.
• Have a total score of 80 on the internet-based TOEFL or a 6.5 overall band score on the IELTS if native language is not English.
• Submit Graduate Rating Forms from three college level instructors and/or nurses and administrators who have supervised applicant’s professional work.
• Submit a sample of scholarly writing (e.g., thesis, published paper).
• Submit an essay describing your aspirations for PhD study and your subsequent career trajectory. Include a brief description of your research interests.
• Submit the online application to the Office of Graduate Admissions by the deadline for fall admission.
• Complete a personal interview with the College of Nursing PhD Student Admissions Committee. Applicants may be interviewed by telephone or teleconferencing at the discretion of the PhD Admissions Committee after all required items have been submitted to the Graduate School.

Academic Standards

• A maximum of 6 graduate credit hours taken before acceptance into the doctoral program may be applied toward the degree.
• Prior to enrollment in the PhD program, each student must successfully complete a criminal background check.
• A minimum final course grade of 83 in all nursing PhD courses is required; however, the College of Nursing will allow one final course grade of 75-82 in the following nursing PhD core courses (N599, N601, N602, N603, N605, N610, N612, N613, N615). A second final course grade of 82 or below in these courses will result in dismissal from the program. A minimum final course grade of 83 is required in all other courses. A 3.00 graduate cumulative GPA is required for continuation in the program.
• The College of Nursing prohibits students from repeating graduate coursework.
• For the PhD degree, students must meet the residence requirement as specified by the Graduate School. A statement as to how and during what period of time the residence requirement has been met will be presented with the Application for Admission to Candidacy along with signatures of approval from the major professor and the department head/program director.

The College of Nursing will observe the following grading scale:

Credit Hours Required

From 72 to 83 graduate credit hours

Required Courses

Non-Course Requirements

• Early in the student’s program, a nursing faculty advisor will be selected by the program director. The student’s comprehensive examination committee consists of the faculty serving on the student’s dissertation committee.
• Four faculty, holding the rank of assistant professor or above, comprise the dissertation committee, and must meet the guidelines established by the Graduate School (see the section Doctoral Degree: PhD Committee under Academic Policies and Requirements for Graduate Students). At least one member of the committee must be from an academic unit other than nursing.
• MSN-PhD students will need to list coursework from master’s degree on the Admission to Candidacy form to fulfill part of the requirement for the PhD degree (a minimum of 1 credit hour).
• DNP-PhD students will need to list coursework from doctoral degree on the Admission to Candidacy form to fulfill part of the requirement for the PhD degree (a minimum of 21 credit hours).